Senate Panel Advance Pot Extract for Kids Bill

By Duke Dance

Published on March 06, 2014 at 12:09PM

A Senate committee has approved a bill that would allow parents of children with sever epilepsy to legally obtain a marijuana-derived extract they say helps with seizures. The Senate Health and Human Service Committee voted 4-0 on Thursday morning to approve the bill. It now moves to the full Senate for consideration. Approval there clears the way for it to head to Gov. Gary Herbert’s desk.

The measure is sponsored by Huntsville Republican Rep. Gage Froerer. The extract oil, which is grown in neighboring Colorado, is believed by many to help children with a rare form of epilepsy known as Dravet syndrome. Froerer’s bill would allow Utah families to bring the oil back to Utah if they have a neurologist’s consent. The extract contains less than half a percent of THC, the hallucinogenic chemical found in marijuana.